Monday, July 30, 2012

While tackling an overdue photo shoot of my office (the only finished room I don't have a link for on my renos page) I was struck with a little fit of craft-mania! I have a very very blank wall on one side of the office that I had struggled with how to add a little punch of fun and whimsy over the last few years. It all started with my bin of remnant fabrics. I really only buy fabric when I have specific crafts or projects in mind so I don't have a lot of any single fabric, but just enough to cover this project entirely without having to spend any money.

The only money spent was on a few embroidery hoops that I rounded up over the last few months at garage and tag sales for less than $1 each (most were ten to twenty five cents). I have seen countless adorable images using embroidery hoops as decor so even though I didn't know when or where they would end up I thought they were a worthwhile thing to collect at the right price.

{ I have no idea what happened to this image while watermarking it, but the black line is an unintentional oopsie! }

To make the letters I free handed an outline based off some antique stamps I had, but you can stencil or trace any letter by printing them and cutting them out.

My letters all laid out. It might be a good idea to use some no-sew type glue, but I just winged it.

I used the same fabric for all my letters, but different colors of embroidery thread to sew them on to the hoops.

{ a good reminder to keep reaching for the stars }

I have one more mini art project I did as well that I will share this week!

And don't worry, I haven't forgot my ask away vlog!! I am aiming to have all your answers posted this week once the video is done being edited.

Friday, July 27, 2012

Well, it's the last day of Blueberry week. I am kind of helter skelter this week so let's just follow my train of thought as it derails, shall we?

I have an Instagram obsession with Audrey Kitching, she is beyond cool and seems to have a lot of fun amidst her hectic life. And her hair changes daily. If I could wake up just once a year and have her bad hair day hair I would be blissful. If anyone makes pink hair look cute and classy it's this girl!

\

Thanks to Audrey I have fallen in love with rainbow hued hair. Not candy colored Katy Perry hair, but romantic, ombre locks.

If I were ever brave enough to even consider trying them I would hope they would look like this.

Wouldn't it be awesome to have the freedom to do that? My issue is I would be sick and tired of it in about a week and need someone to fix it back to normal for me.

So I'll stick to painting things that I don't have to wear on my head indefinitely.

I have done more than my share of blue painted furniture, and I will do many more in the future considering it is my favorite color (white is not a color guys!) but here are a few gems I've seen floating around the internet (sadly most are uncredited so let me know if you know their origin!)

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Can you believe Blueberry week is already half over?? Neither can I! Specially because it is something that really only exists in my head. Thanks for playing along guys...

Today I am making some awfully gutsy statements about a last minute creation I first made last Summer that has become nearly as famous as my karaoke rendition of Bootylicious. Meaning, not all that famous but it really should be.

I'm dubbing them the most delicious, simple (this is the key!) breakfast ever.

It all starts with a cup of fresh blue berries...

Some standard kitchen staples make this French toast fast and easy to whip up. I don't have a special recipe for the egg/milk mixture so I basically whip half up a half egg, half milk mix. Midway through beating the eggs and milk I throw in a teaspoon of sugar and of course a little cinnamon. We always have a loaf of crusty french bread on hand, usually for pre-dinner snacking with oil and balsamic vinegar but this is my favorite way to enjoy french bread!

Fry up your French toast until it is golden and crispy. Now comes the real secret to our toast!

While the pan is still hot, remove it from the heat. Throw all your berries into the hot pan and swirl the pan around to keep the blueberries moving. It is almost like popping corn on the stove. Depending on how hot your pan is this should only take a minute or two. But after a little while your berries will be extra plump and dark and this means they're ready!

Swirling them in the pan makes the berries super sweet and juicy. They pretty much explode in your mouth (Wren loves this part, but it does make for some really messy faces). I sprinkle with some powdered sugar and just a little syrup to finish them off.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

I am a white-room kinda girl at heart. Probably always will be. But as a simple girl who has no design background I've slowly learned over time (and some good old fashioned trial and error) that a simple infusion of color can make the difference between a good room and an amazing one. When I feel the need for such a pop of color my shade always has been and always will be blue. Teal and turquoise rule my world, but a little dramatic Navy is slowly inching in my house as well.

Because I can always use some inspiration, here are some perfectly delicious rooms that may or may not have taken their inspiration from a berry (I like to think they did!).

Monday, July 23, 2012

Few things feel as quintessentially Summer as blueberries. When they are in season nothing beats a plump, delicious and juicy handful of them! We buy the absolute biggest container of them and it is usually gone within 2 or 3 days.

There are tons and tons of recipes, ideas and drinks that feature blueberries so I thought it would be fun to dub this week my unofficial Blueberry Week.

I am not much of cook or baker so instead of detailing recipes, let's dedicate this week to simply enjoying the visual deliciousness of blueberries. I do have a couple easy ideas to share, but this is far from a cooking blog so bear with me!

To indulge our sweet tooths this week Wren and I added a summer twist to our favorite snack: Cupcakes!

We made a batch of boxed white cake cupcakes, but before throwing them in the oven we added a spoonful of blueberry pie filling to the top of each cupcake. Bake normally and when they're done you have extra decadent blueberry cupcakes! Instead of icing we like to top ours with a cool dollop of whipped cream.

We love that they look and feel like mini upside down cakes!

She enjoys hers with a cool glass of milk, but I like to pair it with my new K-cups. We've probably saved hundreds of dollars in the last 7 months since the Keurig joined our family. I have honestly gone down from 2-3 Starbucks runs a week to maybe 3 since Christmas! I like to try new K-cups and mix it up with a spoonful of my favorite hot chocolate. Homemade Cafe Mocha is responsible for getting my engine roaring every morning.

Now I just need to track down a blueberry flavored K-cup to coordinate with our theme this week!

Have you tried any new and tasty K-cups?? I am always looking for recommendations!